Binding together of sheet-like articles such as pages of a book may be accomplished in a number of ways. Some are relatively complex and require machinery. Of course, commercial bookbinders (for either new books or books under repair) usually employ such machinery and pages are permanently bound in the book.
On the other hand, there are situations where it is desirable to bind sheet-like articles together but acquisition of bookbinding machinery is out of the question or at least not warranted. For example, persons who take or otherwise obtain candid photographs often find it desirable to bind such photos between covers to form a book-like arrangement.
Such an arrangement protects the photos, helps prevent loss and retains the order of arrangement. The latter may be important in, say, describing a sequence of events such as a vacation trip. U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,791 (Iwamoto) depicts a binder said to be useful to hold together post cards, photos, business cards and the like.
But photographs are not the only type of sheet-like article to be bound together in aligned, stacked arrangement. U.S. Pat. Nos. 848,680 (Nelson); 1,765,194 (Von Auw); 3,188,114 (O'Brien et al.) and 4,673,324 (Hanson et al.) all depict ways to bind together other types of such articles, e.g., writing tablet sheets, business forms and the like.
Many such binders and arrangements provide for removal and reinsertion of articles into the binder devices or arrangements. This is often accomplished by use of a releasable adhesive to bind the edges of the articles. Such releasable adhesive allows for removal and reinsertion of individual sheets, e.g., photographs, paper, post cards and the like.
While the prior art arrangements have been generally suitable for their intended purposes, some tend to be characterized by certain disadvantages. This is particularly true with respect to self-applied, pressure-adhering devices used by "amateur binders," e.g., persons wishing to bind photos of their grandchildren.
Common problems encountered include loosening or loss of one or more of the sheet-like articles. Such loosening or loss of the articles may result from adhesive failure. After time adhering tend to lose their adhesive. Harsh treatment of the bound arrangement can also loosen sheets. Additionally, repeated use can reduce the adhesive properties of an adhesive.
Further, improper binding can cause loosening or loss of sheet-like articles. Often, when binder arrangements are applied, the strip including the adhesive is "out of square" when applied and does not fully contact and secure the edges of the articles being bound. Additionally, the strip may not be straight along the aligned edges of the articles being bound, the strip may have a fold or crease along it and does not contact and secure the articles to be bound as well as possible.
And as the articles become larger (or at least where the corresponding edge of the article become longer), flawed binding becomes more likely.
Further, binder arrangements typically include covers that are the same size as the articles being bound, particularly where photographs are being bound. This results in the unbound, free edges of the articles being left exposed to damage from contact with surfaces and objects resulting in bending and mutilation of the free edges of the bound articles.
A new arrangement or device which addresses some of these disadvantages would be an important advance in the art.